Chapter 68: He Doesn’t Exist?

    A few miles away from where Jin Jiuchi was, stood a lone luxurious villa on the mountain adorned with expansive glass walls. Sunlight filtered in through the rustling leaves to pour into the spacious master bedroom, and little birds perched on the windowsill as they sang and chirped happily.

    The door to the bathroom swung open and a young man clad in a bathrobe stepped out, faint mists billowing beneath his feet. Droplets of water were dripping from the tip of his silver hair pinned behind his head, sliding down his fair and slender neck to disappear into the collar. His cheeks were still flushed from the hot shower he had just taken, but even more breathtaking than his delicate features were his pale purple eyes akin to cold and hard amethyst, yet they also held a mesmerizing allure that could captivate those who looked into them.

    The detached temperament coupled with the exquisite appearance gave off a strangely bewitching and sensual air.

    At the moment, Shen Nianzu was a little irritated as he asked, "I’ve given you a lot of time, and you still can’t find him?"

    "That’s why I am calling you to ask, Young Master!" A man’s exasperated voice drifted out from the phone’s loudspeaker. "I can still understand it if he has no property or car under his name, but how come he doesn’t have a phone, birth certificate, medical record or bank transaction too?! I’ve pulled my connection and checked the database, but this person named ’Jin Jiuchi’ does not even exist! Are you sure that you have given me the right name?"

    With his brows furrowed deeply, Shen Nianzu walked into his walk-in closet and took off his bathrobe, letting it pool around his feet. He stood in front of the clothing rack clad only in his underwear and paused briefly before choosing a purple silk blouse and black tight-fitting cotton trousers that hugged his slender legs perfectly.

    "What do you mean by he doesn’t exist?" His mind involuntarily drifted to the silly husky who could be overly affectionate and touchy-feely, and in the end the memory settled on the image of the bloody and badly injured man lying on the bus’ cold floor with his breathing weak and one arm missing. He suppressed the emotions in his eyes and said,

    "Check all the hospitals in this country. A man in his mid-twenties, around 190 centimeters in height, who came in last night with bizarre injuries or even sudden organ failure. I have narrowed down the criteria for you. It shouldn’t be difficult anymore, right?"

    "All?! You want me to check..." Shen Nianzu zoned out amidst his assistant’s furious ramblings. Leaving the walk-in closet, he walked to the table and poured himself a glass of water, taking a sip to moisten his dry throat.

    Thanks to the mild injuries he got in the Cycle, he had been running a low fever since he returned last night, but fortunately it was nothing that could not be solved with a little medicine.

    "Ah, that’s right," he exclaimed softly and cut the other man’s words off mid-sentence. "I forgot to add a few details. He has glossy black hair that almost reaches his shoulders, his eyes... um, they should be silver, but you should also include black eyes. He’s also extremely handsome, the kind that makes all the A-list actors pale in comparison." He pressed the mouth of the glass to his lips, his cheeks heating up whenever he recalled the fit and proportional body he had seen in the communal shower.

    He knew that the Cycle would alter 30% of the players’ appearance. This was done so that in case players had deep enmity in the Cycles, they would not be able to recognize each other and bring it to the real world to cause imbalance, unless they had known each other beforehand.

    That’s why, even if Jin Jiuchi’s real appearance was not like how he looked in the Cycle, he should be similar... right?

    The assistant screeched in anger, "Are you even listening to me?!"

    "I am," Shen Nianzu rolled his eyes and deadpanned. "Or else do you think the one talking to you right now is a ghost?"

    "W-We have agreed not to bring up ghosts in our conversation, Young Master!!"

    Shen Nianzu had no idea how to deal with his timid assistant who would flinch and tremble like a helpless leaf at the slightest mention of supernatural beings. He scoffed when the man started to ramble about nonsensical things again. Taking another sip of water out of his glass, he grabbed the remote on the table and turned on the ultra wide high resolution TV, and the face that popped up right in front of him caused him to spurt out the water through his nose, wetting the blouse he had just put on.

    "Cough cough cough—!!"

    "...and that’s why we will— what’s wrong, Young Master? Did something happen?!"

    Shen Nianzu hurriedly placed the glass on the table lest he would break it and cause even a bigger mess. He carelessly wiped the water on his face, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the weeping man on the screen.

    "Shut up," he hissed at the assistant, which effectively made the latter clamp his mouth shut.

    Shen Nianzu turned up the volume of the TV, and as soon as he did, Jin Jiuchi’s sniffling voice came out from the full sound system equipped in the room,

    "He told me that he’s going to find me soon..." he took a huge bite of the noodles drenched in bright red soup in front of him, then sniffled even more as he chewed and swallowed. Tears poured out of his silver eyes to roll down his flushed cheeks. "But it has been so long and I haven’t heard the news from him yet. Do you think I have been abandoned?"

    The host of the mukbang channel, Fatty O, showed a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder. "Brother, there are still so many fishes in the sea, why are you so hung up on her[1]?"

    "Wah—!" Jin Jiuchi cried and ate even faster, finishing the ramen down to the last drop of soup.

    "He has finished nine bowls of Super Spicy Manic Hot Ramen!!" Fatty O snapped his head to the camera with an awed look, complete with the loud applause and drum rolls sound effects. "One more bowl... one more bowl and he will complete the challenge! Our first candidate for the winner today, Jin-ge who has been ditched by a beautiful Nian’er for years!!"

    The fierce chef harrumphed and with a whoosh, whipped up another bloody red ramen and placed it in front of Jin Jiuchi, who tearfully looked at the camera.

    "Nian’er, if you see this, know that I am here waiting for you!"

    Fatty O became even more energetic to hear the drama and started to fan the flames, "Nian’er, how can you be so heartless to dump our Jin-ge? Look at him, he’s handsome, funny as hell and he eats very well! You should take him back!"

    "Yes, you should take me back!"

    "..."

    Shen Nianzu watched the duo echoing each other like parrots with his jaws hanging open to the floor. "What the hell..."

    "Young Master?" The assistant called out timidly.

    Fuck, he had been worried that Jin Jiuchi would be laying helplessly in the ICU, when in fact he was doing a mukbang challenge that was broadcasted live in the national TV channel! And he even dared to claim in front of millions of audience that ’Nian’er’ had abandoned him for years! What years? It had only been a few hours, for God’s sake! Could this man get any more dramatic than this?!

    Shoulders shaking in rage, Shen Nianzu seethed, "You damned husky...!"

    Just wait until he gets there, he would definitely teach this man a lesson!

    .

    .

    [1] the host thought that Jin Jiuchi is talking about a woman, because ’he’ and ’she’ are pronounced the same in Chinese

    A/N: Everyone, so sorry for the lack of notice, but I’ve only realized it just now too that the book is locked :") I update three Chapters today, please support the book by purchasing privilege!